Sr Mary Catharine OP Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 At recreation some of the sisters were talking about our blog and what they enjoyed reading about before the entered, etc. Sr. Blogger suggested that I ask you, if you do/were/might/want to read our blog what sort of things would you like her to post about? Although more than one sister does write the blog (although it is mostly one sister) would you like to read reflections, etc. from different sisters? Please let me know what you think. It would be a great help! God bless you! Sr. Mary Catharine And please pray for Sr. Deepa who is preparing to begin her novitiate and receive the habit on Oct 2nd! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlySunshine Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 [quote name='Sr. Mary Catharine' timestamp='1347393915' post='2481423'] At recreation some of the sisters were talking about our blog and what they enjoyed reading about before the entered, etc. Sr. Blogger suggested that I ask you, if you do/were/might/want to read our blog what sort of things would you like her to post about? Although more than one sister does write the blog (although it is mostly one sister) would you like to read reflections, etc. from different sisters? Please let me know what you think. It would be a great help! God bless you! Sr. Mary Catharine And please pray for Sr. Deepa who is preparing to begin her novitiate and receive the habit on Oct 2nd! [/quote] Hi, Sr. MC! I love reading vocation stories, especially from older Sisters. Ever since I started discerning, I've found stories of Sisters very interesting. I used to spend hours reading them online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i<3franciscans Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 I second what MM said. It is always wonderful reading vocation stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InPersonaChriste Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Things that go deeper into the charism of contemplative life. Different parts of the day explained by the thoughts of the sisters. I love hearing what positive things people think about certain parts of a day in religious life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaberry Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 (edited) Yes, vocation stories are wonderful! They make the Sisters seem more personal, which is always nice. Edit: Also, what InPersonaChriste said! I'd love to hear more in-depth reflections about the daily horarium. Edited September 11, 2012 by emmaberry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulBride Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Vocation stories is a great idea but I think it also would be great to have featured pieces every now and then about adventures in the novitiate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Hi, Sr. Mary Catharine! Thank you for asking us! I can think of a few from having watched VS for a number of year that some of these might be interesting: What was your sisters' experience in applying to the monastery, being an aspirant, being a postulant, being a temporary professed is like. (Would be interesting to know what has changd, what is the same, for your newer and older sisters!) Could some of the sisters share a bit about about how their parents, families, and friends reacted to their vocations to your monastery, especially if they are located a distance away? What kinds of skills or abilities might someone be able to use in a monastery? Or what might be good skills and abilities to develop if someone needs to wait a little while before entrance (if someone's parents won't permit an entrance, or there are financial reasons a person can't come in right away, or a health issue to be resolved). And what kind of things do people do to prepare for entrance.... and which ones really would be useful! And one other thught.-- not necessarily a blog entry! -- would it be possible for you to put up a wish-list for potential postulants -- I bet there are a lot of people who'd be open to helping a sister assemble her trousseau if they knew there was something they could help contribute (and maybe send directly to the monastery....) And we value your occasional presence among us! Pray for us as we pray for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayte Postle Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Ditto to everything above, But what I would love to read about is some of the difficulties of religious life. Sometimes I feel we discerners candy coat religious life (I am very guilty of this), and we sometimes forget that there are unique struggles in religious life, just as there are difficulties outside the convent. I also love to hear how you guys handle those difficulties! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
she_who_is_not Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Hello Sister, In addition to vocation stories of current sisters, I would like to read about sisters from your monastery's history. I've been very affected by the posts about sisters' passing and how they entered the monastery, lived out there vocation, etc. The Nashville sisters have a heritage room and talk about the sisters who had a key role in founding their community and leading it through difficult time. I really enjoy learning about these heroic individuals. God bless your community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaberry Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 [quote name='AnneLine' timestamp='1347410825' post='2481509'] Hi, Sr. Mary Catharine! Thank you for asking us! I can think of a few from having watched VS for a number of year that some of these might be interesting: What was your sisters' experience in applying to the monastery, being an aspirant, being a postulant, being a temporary professed is like. (Would be interesting to know what has changd, what is the same, for your newer and older sisters!) Could some of the sisters share a bit about about how their parents, families, and friends reacted to their vocations to your monastery, especially if they are located a distance away? What kinds of skills or abilities might someone be able to use in a monastery? Or what might be good skills and abilities to develop if someone needs to wait a little while before entrance (if someone's parents won't permit an entrance, or there are financial reasons a person can't come in right away, or a health issue to be resolved). And what kind of things do people do to prepare for entrance.... and which ones really would be useful! [b]And one other thught.-- not necessarily a blog entry! -- would it be possible for you to put up a wish-list for potential postulants -- I bet there are a lot of people who'd be open to helping a sister assemble her trousseau if they knew there was something they could help contribute (and maybe send directly to the monastery....)[/b] And we value your occasional presence among us! Pray for us as we pray for you! [/quote] This post is full of great ideas AnneLine! The bolded part especially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 (edited) Thanks, Mater. What made me think of it is a friend of mine who is now a novice with a community who told me she WISHED she had learned to sew before she had entered... it never occurred to her it would be a good thing to know. I made myself learn in high school (when i thought I would be entering a community) and it has been SUCH a useful skill.... and ironically, I ended up making her postulant habit... because none of the sisters in her community knows how to sew! So... (no pun intended!) I'd be curious to know what kinds of skills really WOULD be useful to know in a monastery. The ones my friend has mentioned that she has used (and never really thought would come in handy...) are doing a blog page, sewing, cooking for a larger group.... singing and reading music... knowing how to use a Liturgy of the Hours book... refinishing furniture.... ability to get along with people of all generations, knowing something about the 1940's, 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's (because most of the sisters are OLDER)..... and I bet there are a bunch more...... Edited September 12, 2012 by AnneLine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To Jesus Through Mary Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 With AnneLine I would love to hear more about the skills that are useful in the convent. I would also love to hear some of the sisters (especially the older sisters) advice/thoughts on perseverance in the religious life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeniJesuAmorMi Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I really like the idea of discerners knowing the realities of religious life and what the sacrifice really entails. When I first started discerning my view was more on the romantic side.To know what this life is really about, and at the same time how "real" religious are; or maybe in another word "human". At the same time though, knowing the deep and lasting joys that one receives when they really do give all to Our Lord; all that he asks and everything they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 (edited) These are great ideas!!!! A few more have occured to me: I'd like to know a bit more about what people do when there are conflicts in a monastery. (I believe only real humans are given vocations, so there MUST be conflicts....) I'd also be curious about this: Even in a Dominican community, not all people are intellectually gifted. Is it possible for someone who might not have a lot of educational background, or who doesn't find study an easy thing, still have a vocation to the Dominicans? When we read your blog, it sounds as if all or many of the young sisters are reading REALLY difficult material -- how does this work for someone who might be a little scared by that? I think it was a really interesting piece about the transition from being in the novitiate to being among the professed sisters. I'd also be curious about what it is like for the community to have aspirants come to stay among them. I'm also curious about what it is like for the community when a sister discerns that she doesn't have a vocation and chooses to leave, or when the Chapter discerns someone doesn't have a vocation. There must be a lot of loss for the community -- and while we discuss a lot about what it is like for individuals who have left on Phatmass, we don't know much about what it is like for the Sisters who now have an empty place in the community. Can you share anything about this? (I realize this is a sensitive subject, and you may not want to discuss it on the blog... but it is an important topic....) Thank you, Sister - this is a WONDERFUL thread! Edited September 12, 2012 by AnneLine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr Mary Catharine OP Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 These are some really great ideas! Thank you! AnneLine, Conflict? Disagreements? You think we have those? :-) Just joking! Of course we do! I won't answer here but stay tuned! As for study. Part of the Dominican vocation is a certain attraction to the intellectual life. There are various degrees of gifts, you are right! But someone who has no attraction for study or theology probably wouldn't fee comfortable in a Dominican monastery. Study is SACRED Study. It's not about a marvelous educational background and some of us with no more than a high school education probably would have the equivalent of a Masters in Theology just because of what she is exposed to in the monastery. We had an old sister who said to me once, "You sisters and your study! Me, I do spiritual reading!" And she walked out of the room with a big volume of the Fathers of the Church under her arm! Well, that is sacred study even if she called it spiritual reading. The sisters in the novitiate have study that is more formal and right now we just have a group of really smart sisters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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